A letter from Rwanda
In the night from the 6th to the 7th of April 2009 it was 15 years ago that the genocide started in Rwanda. To remember this historical moment, commemorations were held all over the country, purple billboards with the text “Hope, genocide against the Tutsi” hang everywhere, all forms of amusement were prohibited, and the streets were desolated during this second week of April. When I arrived the 6th of April in Kigali, it was apparent that, fifteen years after the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi and the moderated Hutu, its impact continues to echo throughout the country. This was not only perceptible during the memorial week, but also after that period: the past has affected every Rwandan, either as a victim, a perpetrator, or a bystander. During my six week visit in Kigali I had the possibility to learn these different facets, since I spoke to both the victims and the perpetrators.
As a research assistant of Alette Smeulers, I had the chance to conduct part of our study in Rwanda. The research is part of a broader research project of Alette Smeulers, on perpetrators of international crimes and other gross human rights violations. After an extensive literature study on the Rwandan genocide, I was eager to go to Rwanda, and talk with perpetrators myself. Together with a fellow student, and later on with Alette Smeulers, we interviewed prisoners convicted or charged with genocide crimes. In the interviews we focused on the group dynamics in order to get a better understanding of how the perpetrators operated during the genocide. Almost all the killings were done in groups, which differed in size from 10 to sometimes up to 100 people. From the interviews it became clear that within the group, the roles and jobs people had varied. In most cases, only a few people did the actual killing, while others just followed the group and stood by without being pressured to kill themselves. Some however were forced to kill and to prove that they supported the right cause.
Next to my job as a research assistant, I conducted research for my final thesis, in which I investigated the current and future security situation in Rwanda. I interviewed three groups of respondents: school children (age 12-15), adolescents (age 20-25) and middle-aged people who witnessed the genocide, either as a victim, a perpetrator or as a bystander. I focussed on these three generations to find out whether there are differences in their opinions. The questions focussed on four themes. First of all the opinion of the people about the current government, secondly whether people felt tensions and if so, what kind of tensions. Thirdly, how history, and especially the genocide, has been recounted by people, and fourthly, how Rwandans see the future of Rwanda. Furthermore, I spoke with government officials, employees from local peacebuilding organisations and human rights activists, also focussing on these four subjects.
The security situation is a sensible subject to research in Rwanda. At first glance the country seems to recover quite well and the government appears to reconstruct the society that has been shredded based on ethnic divisions. However, while officially the ethnic labels Hutu and Tutsi are banned, society is still heterogenic in Rwanda, with the major divisions between the upper- and lower-class and victims and perpetrators. Although, due to the harsh policy towards opposition, people are afraid to express their opinion, especially if this is contrary to the government’s line, several people expressed their worries and sometimes even fears about the current government and Rwanda’s future security. Though not apparent at first sight, under the surface there are several tensions, posing a threat to Rwanda’s present and future security. Despite this somewhat alarming conclusion, I was impressed by the capability of the Rwandan people to move on with their life, live together, and to forgive each other. The government’s slogan to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the genocide, “Hope”, is indeed present in society.
Lotte Hoex
ICC student
VU University Amsterdam
The Netherlands
